My Brother-in-Law Josh has a reading method complete with a book validation algorithm!

I typically pick out books due to the number of times they or an author comes across my radar. In other words, if I hear about a book or an author from three or more sources as part of my daily life, then I get curious and look up that book/author. Sometimes I lower this 'reference number' if the book/author recommendation comes from someone I really respect/like.